


once in a lifetime

by grossmoth



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, M/M, One Shot, i literally wrote this in an hour five beers in, i wrote this drunk and sad, i.e. everytime i write a fic, idk what else to tag i cried writing this and my can of pilsner beer is judging me, no beta we die like men, yeehaw i am not a writer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-06-30 14:32:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19855177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grossmoth/pseuds/grossmoth
Summary: To Max, the voice of her friend was drowned out by her pulse thumping in her ears. With every word, the rage built. It wasn’t quite like any anger she had felt before, it wasn’t hot and it didn’t make her blood burn the way her throat did the few times Billy had snuck her some whiskey when her mother and Neil were out.Billy. Her brother.The anger is cold and heavy, and she can feel the tears prick at the back of her eyes when she starts to yell.





	once in a lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> watching the last episode really broke my heart. as a younger sibling i could only imagine how destroyed i would be if my older brother was killed by an eldritch horror in front of me. i wish max would of had more on screen time to grieve because i think her relationship with billy, as turbulent as it was, meant a hell of a lot to her  
> yeah and also steve and billy totally had something going at least in season 2 so i referenced that briefly thank you please be kind to my drunk ass  
> the title is an homage to the absolute bop by the talking heads

It was the first time the party had stood outside the Star Court Mall since that night. Will and El were officially going to move, and the time was right. At the very least it was to El, who had insisted they all come back one last time. Steve had insisted he be the one to drive them, and after convincing Joyce that he would be able to handle the group alone, they had piled into his BMW, ignoring the number of seats in an effort to fit them all in. 

Standing in the parking lot was like being in a ghost town. It’s been vacant since that night, and with the government coverup most folks in Hawkins felt that even driving too close was a taboo. Another midwestern mysterious tragedy to be ignored and forgotten.

Steve parked haphazardly in front of the main entrance, there was no real point in staying between the lines of the empty parking lot anymore. They filed out of packed car, silent as they were on the drive over. 

Breaking the quiet, Mike mutters, “We survived. We’re all alive.”

“Well, **_we_** survived.” Will whispered, not really in response to Mike, but more just to state it. 

El sucked in a harsh breath at his words. She spoke with pained restraint, “Hopper,” Mike grabbed her hand tightly and she forcefully closed her eyes, “And Billy.”

With the tact of a bull in a china shop, Dustin cried, “Billy?! He tried to kill us! Hell, he tried to kill Steve, like, multiple times! Dude was evil even before the Mind Flayer got to him, what the hell?”

To Max, the voice of her friend was drowned out by her pulse thumping in her ears. With every word, the rage built. It wasn’t quite like any anger she had felt before, it wasn’t hot and it didn’t make her blood burn the way her throat did the few times Billy had snuck her some whiskey when her mother and Neil were out.

Billy. Her brother. 

The anger is cold and heavy, and she can feel the tears prick at the back of her eyes when she starts to yell.

“He’s my brother! Billy is my brother! Shut up, god damn it, shut up! You don’t even know what he’s like, what he’s been through!” Her eyes started to betray her, and she could feel the tears burst their way through the floodgates that had managed to hold strong up until this point, “Shut up! He is my- was my- oh my God. Shit, shit-”

“Hey, hey, shh. It’s okay, I know. Alright? I know.” A soft voice came through to her, followed by a tentative hand on her shoulder. 

Steve. He’s telling her he knows but how does he know? How could he even think he knows? The anger is weaker but it’s still bubbling under her skin. She whips around to face him with her mouth open and ready to scream, but the sound dies in her throat. The tears running down her face were mirrored on his. 

She’s not sure she understands why, well it’s almost more she’s not sure she wants to know how he understands, but he does. Steve also feels that cold, heavy rage, and when she really looks in his eyes she can almost smell the leather jacket, the cologne, and the lingering cigarette smoke that could never quite be covered. The pain he’s feeling isn’t the same, but it’s close enough. It’s enough.

“I know.” Steve repeats, softer, almost a whisper. 

Without even really thinking, she wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into his chest. He hesitated before returning the embrace, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Max, I promise.” Steve’s voice was broken despite the loving insult.

El reached out to touch Max’s arm, cautiously testing the situation, before squeezing the two of them as tightly as she could. The remaining members of the party instantly joined in.

Lucas chimed in, his face to Max’s hair, “Ignore Dustin, he’s an idiot, okay? He’s an idiot.” While Dustin couldn’t stop himself from repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m an asshole, I’m sorry.”

When Max started to laugh through her tears, Steve pulled the party apart with his eyes still misty. 

“Alright, let’s get you shitheads out of here.”


End file.
